Waste liquids generated at automobile service stations and the like present a serious threat to the environment and as a consequence of the concern about this problem, laws have been passed in many jurisdictions with respect to the manner of disposal of such waste liquids. Liquids that present a particular problem include waste motor oils, anti-freeze and the like, and the varying amount of water contained in such liquids (from about 100% water to about 0%) adds to the difficulty of finding a suitable solution to their disposal. Perhaps the simplest and most commonly used solution presently available is to transport the waste liquids to a large commercial incinerator for burning. However, such an approach is quite costly, particularly with respect to the handling (e.g., loading and unloading) and transporting of the liquid wastes.
There are, of course, many different kinds of burners that are designed to be used for various purposes. Patents relating to burners of possible interest here include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,802,423 (Pennington); 4,557,203 (Mainord); 4,969,406 (Buzetzki); and 3,881,430 (Katz). The Pennington patent discloses a combustion apparatus including an auxiliary burning unit for liquid wastes. Wastes may be burned in the auxiliary unit by exposure at a sufficiently high temperature for a sufficient time period. The apparatus relies for its operation on the combustibility of the liquid waste being burned. The Mainord patent discloses a reclamation furnace used to reclaim metal parts contaminated with combustible materials by pyrolyzing the combustible materials. The furnace comprises a primary heat-input burner located in a primary heating chamber and an afterburner chamber including a secondary burner. Water sprays are used to provide temperature control. The Buzetzki patent discloses a method for thermal decomposition of a fluid toxic substance carried in a gas. A combustion unit provided for this purpose comprises a main combustion chamber and a secondary combustion chamber. The Katz patent discloses a two-stage incinerator for incinerating waste hydrocarbon oil or similar products. Waste liquids are injected downstream of the burner, and an air fluidized bed is employed.